Mindfulness Training Associated With Resting-State Electroencephalograms Dynamics in Novice Practitioners via Mindful Breathing and Body-Scan

Electrophysiological effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control following a brief mindfulness induction

Smartphone use is nearly ubiquitous, with 93% of adults among economically developed countries, including the United States, Canada, Israel, and South Korea owning a smartphone (Taylor & Silver, 2019). Multiple studies have demonstrated the distracting effects of smartphone notifications on behavioral measures of cognition. Fewer studies have examined the effects of notifications on neural activity underlying higher-level cognitive processes or behavioral inductions to reduce smartphone-related distraction. Using EEG spectral frequency power densities, we assessed the effects of smartphone notifications (vs. control trials) on engagement of attentional shifting processes involved in cognitive control during a Navon Letter visual oddball task. Participants were randomly assigned to a brief mindfulness induction (N = 44) or a neutral narration control condition (N = 43). Overall, participants had lower theta-band power, but higher alpha- and beta-band power densities on target letter trials preceded by smartphone notifications. Additionally, participants in the mindfulness (vs. control) condition had a larger attention shifting oddball assessed via theta power density and theta/beta ratio (TBR) values-reflecting increased engagement of cognitive control-particularly on smartphone notification (vs. control) trials. Altogether, these results provide evidence supporting the idea that smartphone notifications can decrease activity of neural correlates of cognitive control, and offer the promise of a brief mindfulness induction to buffer against the effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control. The findings indicate a need for further research on mindfulness inductiosn as a means to reduce potential distraction caused by smartphones.

Changes in Mental Health and EEG Biomarkers of Undergraduates Under Different Patterns of Mindfulness

The effects of short-term mindfulness are associated with the different patterns (autonomic, audio guided, or experienced and certified mindfulness instructor guided mindfulness). However, robust evidence for reported the impacts of different patterns of mindfulness on mental health and EEG biomarkers of undergraduates is currently lacking. Therefore, we aimed to test the hypotheses that mindfulness training for undergraduates would improve mental health, and increase alpha power over frontal region and theta power over midline region at the single electrode level. We also describe the distinction among frequency bands patterns in different sites of frontal and midline regions. 70 participants were enrolled and assigned to either 5-day mindfulness or a waiting list group. Subjective questionnaires measured mental health and other psychological indicators, and brain activity was recorded during various EEG tasks before and after the intervention. The 5-day mindfulness training improved trait mindfulness, especially observing (p = 0.001, d = 0.96) and nonreactivity (p = 0.03, d = 0.56), sleep quality (p = 0.001, d = 0.91), and social support (p = 0.001, d = 0.95) while not in affect. Meanwhile, the expected increase in the alpha power of frontal sites (p < 0.017, d > 0.84) at the single electrode level was confirmed by the current data rather than the theta. Interestingly, the alteration of low-beta power over the single electrode of the midline (p < 0.05, d > 0.71) was difference between groups. Short-term mindfulness improves practitioners' mental health, and the potentially electrophysiological biomarkers of mindfulness on neuron oscillations were alpha activity over frontal sites and low-beta activity over midline sites.

EEG-based investigation of effects of mindfulness meditation training on state and trait by deep learning and traditional machine learning

Introduction

This study examines the state and trait effects of short-term mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training using convolutional neural networks (CNN) based deep learning methods and traditional machine learning methods, including shallow and deep ConvNets as well as support vector machine (SVM) with features extracted from common spatial pattern (CSP) and filter bank CSP (FBCSP).

Methods

We investigated the electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements of 11 novice MBSR practitioners (6 males, 5 females; mean age 35.7 years; 7 Asians and 4 Caucasians) during resting and meditation at early and late training stages. The classifiers are trained and evaluated using inter-subject, mix-subject, intra-subject, and subject-transfer classification strategies, each according to a specific application scenario.

Results

For MBSR state effect recognition, trait effect recognition using meditation EEG, and trait effect recognition using resting EEG, from shallow ConvNet classifier we get mix-subject/intra-subject classification accuracies superior to related previous studies for both novice and expert meditators with a variety of meditation types including yoga, Tibetan, and mindfulness, whereas from FBSCP + SVM classifier we get inter-subject classification accuracies of 68.50, 85.00, and 78.96%, respectively.

Conclusion

Deep learning is superior for state effect recognition of novice meditators and slightly inferior but still comparable for both state and trait effects recognition of expert meditators when compared to the literatures. This study supports previous findings that short-term meditation training has EEG-recognizable state and trait effects.

Mindful Movement Intervention Applied to at Risk Urban School Children for Improving Motor, Cognitive, and Emotional-Behavioral Regulation

Objectives

Preliminary evidence has supported the notion that mindful movement-based practices may offer benefits for self-regulation, particularly for vulnerable children. However, this evidence has principally stemmed from subjective assessments of behavioral change, leaving the underlying mechanisms undetermined. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of an in-school mindful movement intervention (MMI) for at-risk children within an urban public school for enhancing motor, cognitive, and emotional-behavioral regulation, including control of disruptive and inattentive behaviors characteristic of ADHD.

Method

Participants included 38 (age 7-8 years) children who received twice weekly, in-school MMI, including a modified Tai Chi sequence, yoga and biomechanical warm-ups, imaginative play, and reflection. Parent and teacher ratings of disruptive behaviors, and objective measures of motor and cognitive control, were collected at baseline and after 5 months of MMI.

Results

Significant improvements in teacher ratings of inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, oppositional, and other disruptive behaviors were observed. Significant improvements were also observed for objective measures of both cognitive control and motor control with particular reductions in both right and left dysrhythmia.

Conclusions

MMI was associated with improvements across objective and subjective assessments of motor, cognitive, and behavioral control. This proof-of-principle investigation provides preliminary support for the efficacy and feasibility of a novel MMI implemented as part of the school day in an urban school setting with 7-8-year-old children to augment development of at-risk youth.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-02063-7.

Enhanced electroencephalography effective connectivity in frontal low-gamma band correlates of emotional regulation after mindfulness training

Practicing mindfulness, focusing attention on the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment with open and nonjudgement stance, can lead to the development of emotional regulation skills. Yet, the effective connectivity of brain regions during mindfulness has been largely unexplored. Studies have shown that mindfulness practice promotes functional connectivity in practitioners, potentially due to improved emotional regulation abilities and increased connectivity in the lateral prefrontal areas. To examine the changes in effective connectivity due to mindfulness training, we analyzed electroencephalogram (EEG) signals taken before and after mindfulness training, focusing on training-related effective connectivity changes in the frontal area. The mindfulness training group participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program. The control group did not take part. Regardless of the specific mindfulness practice used, low-gamma band effective connectivity increased globally after the mindfulness training. High-beta band effective connectivity increased globally only during Breathing. Moreover, relatively higher outgoing effective connectivity strength was seen during Resting and Breathing and Body-scan. By analyzing the changes in outgoing and incoming connectivity edges, both F7 and F8 exhibited strong parietal connectivity during Resting and Breathing. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the changes in effective connectivity of the right lateral prefrontal area predicted mindfulness and emotional regulation abilities. These results partially support the theory that the lateral prefrontal areas have top-down modulatory control, as these areas have high outflow effective connectivity, implying that mindfulness training cultivates better emotional regulation.

Interoceptive awareness: MBSR training alters information processing of salience network

Mindfulness refers to a mental state of awareness of internal experience without judgment. Studies have suggested that each mindfulness practice may involve a unique mental state, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here we examined how distinct mindfulness practices after mindfulness-based intervention alter brain functionality. Specifically, we investigated the functional alterations of the salience network (SN) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) among the two interoceptive mindfulness practices-breathing and body scan-associated with interoceptive awareness in fixed attention and shifted attention, respectively. Long-distance functional connectivity (FC) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) approaches were applied to measure distant and local neural information processing across various mental states. We hypothesized that mindful breathing and body scan would yield a unique information processing pattern in terms of long-range and local functional connectivity (FC). A total of 18 meditation-naïve participants were enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program alongside a waitlist control group (n = 14), with both groups undergoing multiple fMRI sessions during breathing, body scan and resting state for comparison. We demonstrated that two mindfulness practices affect both the long-distance FC _SN and the local ReHo, only apparent after the MBSR program. Three functional distinctions between the mindfulness practices and the resting state are noted: (1) distant SN connectivity to occipital regions increased during the breathing practice (fixed attention), whereas the SN increased connection with the frontal/central gyri during the body scan (shifting attention); (2) local ReHo increased only in the parietal lobe during the body scan (shifting attention); (3) distant and local connections turned into a positive correlation only during the mindfulness practices after the MBSR training, indicating a global enhancement of the SN information processing during mindfulness practices. Though with limited sample size, the functional specificity of mindfulness practices offers a potential research direction on neuroimaging of mindfulness, awaiting further studies for verification.